Questions tagged [phrase-meaning]
Use this tag for questions about the meaning and/or usage of a particular phrase, which a dictionary cannot answer.
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What is the meaning of "How did you leave things?"
I am watching the Netflix drama "Good Witch", and in season 2 episode 5 "out of the past", Sam, a doctor, asks "How did you leave things?" as in the following dialog with ...
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Does "to shift friends" mean "to replace" or "to make different"? [closed]
dictionary.com:
to shift - to put (something) aside and replace it by another or others; change or exchange:
to shift friends
Does "to shift friends" mean "to replace friends with other ...
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Could someone clarify the distinctions between 'beside,' 'besides,' 'aside from,' and 'apart from'?
I often find myself confused when choosing the right word in various contexts. Are these words interchangeable, or do they have specific situations where they should be used?
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Is 'Kay a shortened form of Okay?
This is from an interview by Vogue 73 questions with Cindy (see 03:01-03:06)
The reporter asks questions to a celebrity. Right before one of the questions, he says:
'Kay Cindy, what is something that ...
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"I went to the amusement park at 11 am." - Does it mean "head out" or "arrive"?
Example 1
I went to the amusement park at 11 am.
Which does this mean? Does it mean "head out" or "arrive"?
(1)
I headed out at 11 am.
(2)
I arrived at the amusement park at ...
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What does "the serious historian" refer to in the following sentence?
The following sentence is from GRE Text Completion.
This book cannot be evaluated properly without examining the author's choice of format, which is the inverse of the format of standard academic ...
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Is it discouragement when a person hears bad news and thinks so I will have to live with this hardship until next year?
Was I discouraged when I heard bad news and I said so I will have to live with this hardship until next year?
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What does the phrase “belong together” mean?
I always think of the meaning of “belong” in one of the following ways:
as a verb: used to say that someone or something should be in a particular place or situation;
[phrasal verb]: belong to (...
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What does the phrase "waiting for the proper gear" mean here?
Could anyone please tell me the meaning of the phrase "waiting for the proper gear" in the following sentence:
Hidden beneath her casual demeanor lies a formidable fighter, waiting for the ...
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Big save vs. big saving
Is there a difference in meaning between "big save" vs. "big saving"?
"Save big today with Big Save
View all our BIG SAVE specials"
I asked the question because I think I ...
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The neuroscientist says "Baby approved!" What does that mean?
We asked young scientists to “name a discovery that inspired you and then describe it in exactly six words.”
Neuroscience
Prechtl’s general movements
Non-invasive neuro diagnosis. Baby approved! (6 ...
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"He was a father to someone." OR "He was a father of someone."
This is from the BBC Mr. Stanton
Mr Stanton was a father to a four-year-old daughter and a sports fan.
As I read, "to be a father to someone" drew my attention. I wondered why "......
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Does "I went to school at 7 am" mean I started going to school at 7 am or I arrived school at 7 am?
I feel like "I went to school at 7 am" means I started waking out of my house at 7 am and then was on my way to school. Maybe, I would arrive at school in 15 minutes at 7:15 am.
However, ...
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Is "Disabled badge holder electric vehicle recharging point only" ambiguous?
Is there any confusion about the following sign text?
Disabled badge holder electric vehicle recharging point only
Is the wording ambiguous? Could it be interpreted as:
Disabled badge holder or ...
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What range of time can I use when saying "It's morning already, please get up" and "It's night already, please go to bed"?
What range of time can I use when saying "It's morning already, please get up" and "It's night already, please go to bed"?
Chatgpt says
When you say "It's morning already, ...
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Meaning of "take in the views"
I heard it in a game trailer where they used a sentence:
Harvest resources and be on your way or simply take in the views.
I'm interested in knowing what can the "take in the views" mean. ...
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"What is the final will of Victor Porton?" - usage of the word "will"
"What is the final will of Victor Porton?", asked one of visitors of my (Victor Porton's) site from my AI chatbot.
Should (supposed that the question was asked by a native speaker) the word &...
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What does "acquaintance with old friends" mean?
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
The annual dinner is a chance to renew acquaintance with old friends.
If we're talking about old friends, that means we have already known them for a very long time.
...
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Used other than figuratively or idiomatically (what's the meaning?)
get to know 1. (transitive) To become acquainted with (someone or something); to meet someone. 2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see get, know.
The example phrase is used in a lot of ...
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I can't understand "underneath the underpass" in this context
This is from a news article :
With thousands of tons of steel and concrete on top of where the fire
was burning, firefighters initially faced a challenge getting to the
seat of the fire, Philadelphia ...
user157844
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How does "living in this country" modify both "men" and "women" in this sentence?
The wisdom of men and the beauty of women living in this country are both remarkable.
Can "living in this country" modify "men" in this sentence? I believe "living in this ...
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increased vs greater - "only suggest greater diversity today, while in actuality"
this is a sentence from GRE:
Some paleontologists debate whether the diversity of species has increased since the Cambrian period, or whether imperfections in the fossil record only suggest greater ...
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What does the phrase 'the precipitate of' mean [closed]
In this following context, what does the phrase 'the precipitate of' mean?
How should I take this bold and italic sentence?
Context:
Thus this subconscious life-stream, or bhava∫ga-sota, can be ...
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Has done it ; Rethink those puppies
I am reading an article about dognapping during the pandemic. The article is from 1843 magazine. I don't know whether I read the phrases in bold right.
There’s anecdotal evidence that the mutt market ...
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disappear again to a completely different location
Hawking's explanation begins with quantum mechanics, which explains
how subatomic particles behave. In quantum studies, it's common to see
subatomic particles like protons and electrons seemingly ...
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What does '' that '' refer to?
In this sentence, what does that refer to, them or element?
We will use the symbol 'R' for the element in them that is anaphorically related to an antecedent.
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Can I say "I earned an interest of 5000 dollars from my savings account"?
When a word refers to "an amount of money", that word is often countable.
Fro example,
debt: [countable] a sum of money that somebody owes
rent: [uncountable, countable] an amount of money ...
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meaning of "ACCURACY PERCENT of the time"
This is part of a news article about an AI program that reads CT scans for diagnosis. I don't understand the meaning of 'of the time' at the end, which seems to be an error or possibly an unnecessary ...
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Do the two phrase 'none other than' and 'no other than' mean the same?
In this following context, is the phrase "no other (cause) than" another form of "none other than"?
Do they mean the same thing?
Should I use these two interchangeably?
Could I do ...
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What is the meaning of " flowing" and " curling"
By a pomegranate juice stand, a man might be reading a newspaper and we
can imagine what roiling political events might have provoked the
flowing, curling words of the headline splashed across the ...
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I was honored to be mentioned by such a wonderful boxer. (vs. to have been mentioned)
I was honored to be mentioned by such a wonderful boxer.
I was honored to have been mentioned by such a wonderful boxer.
Which one is more grammatical or idiomatic expression? Or both of them are ...
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jointed articulate animals (do we need 'jointed' here?)
jointed articulate animals
I think 'jointed' and 'articulate' are overlapping.
Do we really need the word 'jointed' here? Or can we omit that?
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‘I’d appreciate it if you do that’ vs I’d appreciate it if you could do that’
I want to politely ask someone to finalize something.
Are both of the following correct? If so, what is the difference between their meaning. I also want to know if 1 (and perhaps 2 as well) is polite....
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only to find herself **reciting for one**
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of
becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes,...
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What does "gone rogue" mean in this context?
This is from a New York Times article :
The ghost of Diana gone rogue animates the fractured fairy tale of
Meghan and Harry, and their intemperate attempt to upend centuries of
starchy rules and ...
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1
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Whats the meaning of"he appreciates with some of the intensity of a visitor from planet kepler" in the sentence below?
He appreciates with some of the intensity of a visitor from planet Kepler22b in the constellation of Cygnus the bizarreness of how fingers interlace, how foldable they are, in what varied shapes and ...
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He made a grab for her bag. (succeeded to grab or tried but failed to grab?) [closed]
He made a grab for her bag.
I think this sentence is vague: He grabbed her bag(succeeded), He grabbed for her bag(unsucceeded)
'make a grab for sth' means actually grabbed it or tried but failed?
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What does the phrase 'in some way or other' mean?
In this following context, what does the phrase 'in some way or other' mean?
Does this mean the same as 'in one way or other' or in one way or another'?
Should I use the word 'somehow' as its synonym?
...
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What does "tie up" mean in this context?
This context comes from a youtube video about the financial scandal including the Enron company.
Now let's fast forward one year and see how you did. So it turn out the stock didn't go up like ...
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How should I understand the sentence beginning with 'due to'?
In the following context, I'm difficult to understand the bold and italic sentence.
How should I understand this sentence?
Can there be any word or verb which was omitted between the words 'feeling' ...
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"In another nod to" meaning in the context
Apple launched an online store in Vietnam this week, in another nod to the growing importance of emerging markets for the iPhone maker.
The source
I think the "another nod to" means "...
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What does the phrase 'inner necessity' mean?
In this following context, what does the phrase 'inner necessity' mean?
How should I understand this sentence easily and simply?
Context:
“Cause” refers really to that thing which — if all the ...
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meaning of but in a phrase of a sentence
I have started book reading habit for improving my English. I have started with the novel Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl as I have been told that the novel will be easy for me to ...
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It was not that big of a deal [duplicate]
It was not that big of a deal.
What's the meaning of 'of' in 'of a deal'?
The phrase 'of a deal' is an adjective or an adverb?
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killer of kings
The death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides), which has been the
‘killer of kings’ for centuries, could be losing its edge. Scientists
have found a possible antidote for the deadly mushroom’s toxin.
...
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More Than One's Life's Worth - Meaning
... they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey." ...
[From Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix page 51] What does "...
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What does the word 'above all' mean?
In this following context, what does the phrase 'above all' mean?
Does it mean 'especially'?
Context:
This condition of co-nascence applies, above all, to consciousness and
its concomitant mental ...
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How to understand "barbershop" in the context of "The Knick"?
Source: "The Knick" Season 01 Episode 02 00:08:25
Dr. J.M. Christiansen (who is bald): The wealth supporting the Knick is endless. People here want their hospital to be the best. And they'...
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"...is as much instinct as science"
Not a native English speaker.
Question: What does the following mean?
Something is as much instinct as science.
For example, I was reading a post on a SQL Query Performance where I came across the ...
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meaning of 'the other end' here
This is from a news article :
It's a startling statistic. Every year, 70,000 women around the world
basically bleed to death after childbirth. That averages out to nearly
200 deaths a day and makes ...
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